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i would appreciate any and all advice. am looking into an intergrated unit for fishing boat. have done research on raymarine, furuno, simrad, northstar. but know that you guys out there have alot more hands on experience with these units. which machines are the best, are ones sounders better than the others. would all service centers be about the same. would all units be user friendly or do you have to be a rocket scientist to operate any or all of these units
You listed all the brands but you left out some data. What is your budget, how much space do you have and what kind of boat do you have. This info will make things allot easier.
Thanks
Furuno*and Garmin....I don't have any experience with the Northstar or Simrad. I had a raymarine which I thought was OK but no great shake. I didn't find the unit to be intuitive. I've had terrible luck with 3 of the Lowrance (LCX 16CI (3x) , 19, and 104c)*Lowrance kept on upgrading me to a higher model everytime the unit failed, that's why I ended a bunch of lowrance units..at least their customer service is great. I like Furuno navnet (chartplotter/radar/fishfinder). Still a learning curve to use the unit but overall not bad at all.I*also have a garmin unit as a secondary back-up. I do like the Garmin navigation chart*better than Furuno. Check the new Navnet 2 which is supposed to have a faster redrawing speed...good luck
Garmin has a nice integrated system with a very clear display. The radar works very well and the WX feature is also a very nice feature for traveling offshore.
I had raymarine chartplotter, echo sounder, radar all tied together where could view them all on one screen at the same time, or they each had their own screens if you wanted to use them that way. I was very pleased with the system overall. The chartplotter/gps was very easy to use and had achoice of many different screens to use, whatever you are more comfortable with. The echosounder was a snap to use with many features and did a great job in all depths, except in shallow water, then it seemed to have a hard time. Also, the transducer was mounted of the back of the boat, this was the only part I did not like. It rough seas sometimes it would flip up and lose contact. I would definately recommend a solid mount through hull transducer. The radar worked well, but I am no rocket scientest, so I do not think I used it to it's full ability.
I now have the same set up on my new boat, but it is a simrad system. It is to new for me to give you any real feedback, but after I am comfortable with it, I think this will be a better system that will offer more detailed information.
i was told by a salesman at the n.o. boat show which handles garmin and some of the other brands that garmin is experiencing problem with their radars that there is no fix for at this time. it seemed to me that he was being honest.
I have owned and used Raymarine (sl70c, RL70, 520D, L-760, RC435, C-120), Furuno stand alone units(chart, radar & sounder), Garmin 2010 & 2006 and Northstar 952. By far my favorite was and is Northstar...
It's better when you can keep to a single vendor for all your electronics. The 10in Navnet Furuno's and the Raymarine E series would be my first pics. They both are very reliable and its tough to pick just one so Id say Raymarine. I would have 2 E120's 12.1" monitors networked togeather so that if one went down the other could handle all the funtions. I would also have the 4kw open array and the DSM300 black box. Those would be my wish list.
For ease of use, I think the Garmin comes first and then the Raymarine C Series. I like the CSeries alot and like that system when integrated. I just favor the Garmin alittle more now because of the weather setup. If you did not want the weather, I would go Raymarine, Furuno, Simrad, or whatever. Wahzoo, you are right the Northstar units are nice but they are expensive. Same thing with Simrad, very nice system, price just tends to scare people away.
I had a Northstar 951XD on my old boat and I thought it was terrifc. I think the Northstar 6000i is the easiest to use and most intuitive GPS on the market. HOWEVER, their are great advantages (like overlaying radar on top of charts and pulling up multiple windows of functions on multiple screens) to a fully integrated system (radar, GPS/Chartplotter, fish finder, auto pilot, etc.) from one manufacturer even though no one has best-in-class products in every category. Northstar's radar unfortunately is a joke compared to others and since I do my boating in Maine, I rely on my radar quite a bit. So I eliminated Northstar.
Simrad has the worst user interface I have ever seen. Raymarine has made tremendous progress with their E and C series and it is intuitive to use. However I have had several dealers complain about quality problems with the equipment and "overpromising" from Raymarine. People have different opinions on this as you can see in the thread that I pointed you to above.
People that seem to really use and need their radar prefer Simrad or Furuno. The Furuno NavNet system is not as intuitive as Raymarine but it is better than Simrad and they have very serious and high quality products for radar, GPS/Chartplotter, fish finder, autopilot and weatherFAX functions. Since I will be running a Nobeltec PC based system (for full redundancy on my 45' Symbol) as my primary GPS/Chartplotter (and back-up radar) I decided to go with a full Furuno system as my primary radar (and back-up GPS/Chartplotter). I will have a great user interface on the Nobeltec GPS/Chartplotter and a rock solid radar with the Furuno Navnet system in addition to solid products in all of the other categories. My biggest concern about Furuno Navnet was the GPS/Chartplotter user interface and I will primarily be using Nobeltec for that.
Since you will likely not be running a PC based system, and assuming you want a networked system from one manufacturer, I think your trade-off comes down to how important the user interface is vs. how important radar is vs. how nervous are you about RayMarine quality. If you don't use your radar that much and you have a great dealer that will stand behind anything you buy, go with RayMarine because it has the best user interface. If you rely on your radar a lot and you don't care as much about a kludgey user interface and/or you are also concerned about RayMarine quality, go with the new Furuno NavNet vx2 equipment.
Jessjr, I have the Furuno NavNet system w 2 10 color screens, 48 mile radar, DF, Navionics charts tied into a Simrad/Rodertson 220 pilot. System works great. If I could do over I would give consideration to the Furuno pilot good write up. Service should enter into your decision as well. There was a lightning strike at the end of my pier, somehow sent a surge to several boats. My NavNet would not work, local electronics installer sent radar unit back to Furuno, due to time constraints, Furuno replaced with new unit, delivered & installed it on my boat and loaded the new version of software on the other unit. Good luck.
Jerry
Simrad has the worst user interface I have ever seen.
I must disagree !!!
All manufacturer's have their "quirky" interfaces... that you must learn...
I have gone through the process with Furuno, Simrad and Northstar... I believe Simrad is tops.
For ease of navigating (the interface), customization of screens and features... it works for me.
Everyone is different you must try them...
I think because Simrad is more expensive.. it is not as popular as other brands... but you said your budget is open..
The Simrad 10" screens are super (even in brite sunny conditions)... they make a great combi unit with solid Radar, Sounder and Plotter functions. I would not leave them out of your evaluation process.
I have a simrad ca 54 and is one hell of a system. If you do not mind pushing the same button a couple of times to get to the screen you want. I had the nav net and liked the system but it does not compare in all areas to the simrad units. Yes they are much more expensive and not as easy to use or learn. after a few hours of use you are able to do som much with the simrads. After a season you are a pro and would not use any other units. Just look at some comercial guys and see what they are using and I bet they use simrad.
I agree with the last 2 posters. I just bought 2 simrad cx44 with the radar and echo. I am coming from a northstar and did not seem that much different to use. Every one is different so once you get past the learning curve it's a piece of cake. In some aspects it is easier to use.
A couple of comments on the Northstar GPS. I think mine is a 952X (7" color LCD with WAAS). I bought it because most of the fishing guides I know like them. The unit works well for the most part and updates faster than any GPS I have ever seen, but it is not without it's flaws. First of all, these things do not have internal trip meters! I called Northstar thinking I was too stupid to find it, but the guy on the phone said they do not offer that function and he gets calls about it all the time. Call it a pet peeve, but every GPS should have a stinkin' trip! I now carry a Garmin handheld to verify my trip. Secondly, the high bright function turns itself off at every power-down and you have to go through several menus to turn it back on. This can be a pain. Thirdly, the unit drops your waypoint when you get within a few feet of it. So, if you are trying to get on top of a wreck, the waypoint data goes blank right when you get there. I switch over to the map screen and zoom in to work my way to where I'm going though, which really works better for me anyway. Lastly, the 4 way rocker button has started giving me trouble. All told, I am not all that impressed with my Northstar, especially for the price. If any of you Northstar owners have any tips for me, send me an email please!!!
On the other stuff, I opted for seperate FF and radar screens since I have plenty of room, I like large screens, and my Dad would probably pull his hair out trying to figure out how to make the split screens work. My FF and radar units are RayMarine and I am very pleased with them both. The 10" high-bright color LCDs are truly daylight viewable. The NMEA from the GPS is integrated with both units. The radar unit gives you a lollipop for navigation once you enter a waypoint, which I find very useful. Since I have the Northstar GPS, I can't overlay the GPS map and the radar, but it hasn't been an issue for me.
As a general opinion, I am opposed to an "all-in-one" system. If a power supply board blows, screen goes out, etc. you're dead in the water. No GPS, no radar, no sounder. Not a position I want to be put in far offshore, even in good conditions. Certainly not in bad ones... I am a firm believer in REDUNDANCY.
With that said, I just purchased a Raymarine C-80. I was in the market for a color radar, as I already have a good (Raymarine) chartplotter and Furuno sounder. I didn't need the multifunction capability, but I got such a great deal on the unit it was like butying the color radar and getting a backup chartplotter for free. IMO, all of the above are quality manufacturers. I would shop for the best deal I could find a go with it if it fits your needs, be it Furuno, Ray, or Simrad. I would stay away from Garmin if you want radar capability. I'd heard the same thing stated above, this is Garmin's first foray in radar, and besides, their 2kw dome costs TWICE as much as the Raymarine(??)....
raymarine,furuno,simrad, or northstar?
